NBCU’s 30 Rock Will Get Retro Refit As Comcast Crowns RCA Building

Just as Comcast moves forward with its plan to replace the GE sign atop the former RCA building with its own name and the NBC Peacock logo, NBCUniversal today announced a major overhaul and rehabilitation of 30 Rockefeller Plaza. A desire to “celebrate the storied past of one of the most iconic buildings in entertainment history,” the company said, the plan calls for the re-creation of the original Art Deco-era design of the NBC portion of the lobby while adding high-tech upgrades “to reinforce 30 Rock as a state-of-the art entertainment destination – and a center for the creative industries for many decades to come.”

The sweeping 16-foot-wide, marble Grand Stair that originally led from the lobby to the mezzanine level will return, along with a recreation of the Mezzanine Rotunda, which will be a “grand circular reception lobby in the style of the original 1930s-era lobby design.” Also in the works, a “Peacock Lounge,” i.e., waiting room for audience hopefuls for Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Late Night With Seth Meyers and The Meredith Vieira Show.

“The re-development of the Grand Stair and Mezzanine Rotunda, coupled with the modernization of our studios, is an homage to the original designers of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, and an affirmation of our belief that the true golden age of this legendary broadcast facility lies not only in the past, but in the present and the future,” commented John Wallace, President, NBCUniversal Operations and Technical Services. “The entire re-design has been crafted to bring NBCUniversal’s talent for showmanship and spectacle to our global headquarters, and to further deepen our company’s longstanding commitment to New York.”

The plans also include extensive enhancements to spaces accessible to the NBC tours. The lobby project will be led by architectural and interior design firm, Gabellini Sheppard Associates. Design Republic is the lead designer for the studios, 7th Floor Lobby and production gallery.